Adani AGM 2024: ‘Designed to defame us, damage, erode hard-earned market value,’ says Gautam Adani about Hindenburg report

Adani Annual General Meeting 2024: Gautam Adani, in his address to shareholders during the Adani Group’s Annual General Meeting 2024 on Monday said that foreign short-seller Hindenburg Research’s damning report on the conglomerate was published with an aim to defame them and erode the group’s hard-earned market value. He said that the group still persisted. He underscored that despite the Hindenburg report and its aftermath, the group raised Rs 40,000 crore. 

“We were faced with baseless accusations made by a foreign short seller that questioned our decades of hard work. In the face of an unprecedented attack on our integrity and reputation, we fought back and proved that no challenge could weaken the foundations on which your group has been established. These foundations happen to be our three core values – courage to withstand, trust in our capabilities, and commitment to our purpose. These values were established in 2012 – and have continued to become more relevant with every passing year,” he asserted.

Talking about Hindenburg’s report, Adani said, “Typical short sellers target gains from financial markets. This was different. It was a two-sided attack – a vague criticism of our financial standing and, at the same time, an information distortion campaign, dragging us into a political battlefield. The attack was a calculated strike two days before the closing of our Follow-on Public Offer. Amplified by a segment of vested media, it was designed to defame us, do maximum damage and erode our hard-earned market value.”

Adani Enterprises decided to unexpectedly call off its Rs 20,000-crore FPO, a day after it successfully closed the offer. This happened after the company’s shares plunged due to the Hindenburg report. It returned the money collected from the investors in the FPO.

Adani during his speech said that the decision to return the money was a testimony of their dedication to their investors and their commitment to ethical business practices. He said most companies would have gone under in such trying times, but their liquidity became their greatest asset. 

“To further augment our cash reserves, we raised an additional Rs 40,000 crore, comfortably covering the next two years of our debt repayment. This decisive action is a testimony to the great strength of your company. It restored market confidence – and we safeguarded our portfolio against any volatility by pre-paying Rs 17,500 crore in margin-linked financing,” he said.

The billionaire founder of the conglomerate said that despite never having faced any challenges with debt repayments, they chose to drop their debt to EBITDA ratio to 2.5x in just 6 months. “It now stands even lower at 2.2x. This approach has not only strengthened our financial resilience but has also increased our headroom for future expansion,” he told the shareholders.

The Supreme Court affirmed the actions of the company, he said, further vindicating them. “In addition, our commitment to operational excellence and transparent disclosures was validated not only by rating agencies and the well-informed financial community, but also by respected global investors like GQG Partners, TotalEnergies, IHC, QIA and the US Development Finance Corporation – all of whom chose to invest in us. The headwinds that tested us became the very ones that made us even stronger,” he said.